By David Floyd
Chattanooga Times Free Press
HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. — Amid an increase in calls, Hamilton County Emergency Medical Services has added a 17th ambulance.
Mayor Weston Wamp, who was sworn in last year, said one of the first conversations he had with EMS Director John Miller was about chronically low pay in his department, which was causing difficulty hiring personnel. The county has since increased compensation for EMS employees by an average of 13%.
“We made it a priority during budget season,” Wamp said during a news conference Friday morning. “The County Commission never flinched in our desire to increase EMS pay at a significant level.”
Medic 17 will be dispatched out of the station at Enterprise South Industrial Park, which also houses Medic 3, until the county finds a permanent home, according to a news release from the county mayor’s office.
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